« Antidemocratic and xenophobic forces of Europe have always been attracted by the European unity dream, the mystic of the imperial Rome»
(FB - 1998)
" Being a citizen is a voluntary act "
(FB - 2009)
"Thinking about the future only makes sense if it is aimed at improving one’s thinking about the present and about the trends at work"
(FB - 1998)
"The European project is not a dream, but a hope. It is rooted in rationality, which is not the case with dreams. We Europeans have seen our dreams end in nightmares too often not to be suspicious."
(FB - 2005)
"The strength of a network is judged at the information level of the weakest link, or more precisely the link furthest from the centre of the network."
(FB - 2004)
"Europe's destiny is escaping the two "Greats" and it will come knocking on the door of the Europeans."
(FB - 1989)
"The history of Europe is a bit like a multifaceted diamond. Everyone sees the same diamond... but no one sees exactly the same facets."
(FB - E-storia project, 2004)
"Let us dare the future as the founding fathers of Europe did"
(FB - "From EU to Euroland", 2001)
"The European citizenship can not be decreed. The European citizen can only be born..."
(FB - 1992)
"Every state is a minority in the EU. In any case, let’s not forget that if all our states went into building the EU it is because they all felt too small to face alone both their future and the rest of the world."
(FB - 2003)
"From a single (EU) Currency to a single (EU) Citizenship. The euro is only an instrument."
(FB - 1997)
"An empire is always providing platforms where conflicts and wars prolife­rate... an empire needs enemies, whilst a Community requires partners."
(FB - 1992)
"Europe’s history has taught us that dreams and nightmares are the two faces of the same coin"
(FB - “Europe is Peace” 2006)
"Everybody wants to have a successful enlargement whereas it is a successful enlarged EU which is important."
(FB - 2002)
"It is clear that the existing national political parties can not serve two masters: national and European."
(FB - IDE, 1989)
"It takes teamwork to make Europe move forward."
(FB - 2005)
"There is nothing like one European. The European is a team of Europeans... the only way we can imagine a European, it is a team of people from different countries, not a single man or woman."
(FB - Enschede (NL) 2012)
"On the horizon with a heaven of freedom and a land of responsibility, this is perhaps the soul of Europe."
(FB - 1992)
"The future challenge for the European project is not about Europe anymore, it is about the Europeans."
(FB - 2005)
"The more Brussels speaks English, the less Brussels understands the Europeans"
(FB - 2004)
"Occupy the Future of Europe!"
("What do YOU want as a future for AEGEE?" Franck Biancheri at the 2012 Agora in Enschede)
"To combine new technologies and democratic principles to succeed in the entry of European integration in the 21st century or e-democracy at the service of Euro-democracy"
(FB - EUSV, 2001)
"In the years 00 of the 21st century, democratization can only take place in the perspective of the democratic election of a European executive that remains to be invented."
(FB - EUSV, 2001)
"We must build the European Community, otherwise Europe will soon be culturally Americanised, politically Finlandised and technologically Japanised"
EGEE I, 1984

[:en]”Being a citizen is a voluntary act”. Franck Biancheri (2009)[:fr]”Etre citoyen est un acte bénévole”. Franck Biancheri (2009)[:]

[:en]

No one will pay citizens for democracy … it’s a citizen’s effort, it’s a citizen’s contribution, because in the end it is the interest of the citizens to be able to control the power… Democracy if it is not the citizens who pay for it, nobody will pay for them…

Europe on Track, AEGEE-Europe‘s working group, organised a tour of meetings of local branches in 2019 on the theme: “Looking for the future of Europe through youth participation“. On the question “what form of participation“, 52% of the young people interviewed answered “volunteering” (45% demonstrations and 43% petitions, knowing that one way does not exclude the others).

This answer responds to Franck Biancheri’s civic convictions: “Being a citizen is a voluntary act“. One of the reasons why he has always felt that fighting for democracy, through the different movements he has initiated since AEGEE, IDE, Prometheus-Europe, Newropeans, Europe2020… must remain voluntary commitment, and voluntary means free. As citizens, we work for ourselves but also for our society, others, it is a gift from oneself. This required a great deal of self-sacrifice and a great sense of humanism, two qualities that Franck Biancheri carried within him, as did many others of his fellow travellers. And today we can only congratulate these young people, who take to the streets, but above all who commit themselves with the energy of their convictions for their future.

We invite you to watch Franck Biancheri’s very short video (in french) on this subject “Being a citizen is a voluntary act”.

[:fr]

La démocratie personne ne la paiera pour les citoyens … c’est un effort des citoyens, c’est une contribution des citoyens, parce que in fine c’est l’intérêt des citoyens de pouvoir contrôler le pouvoir… La démocratie si ce ne sont pas les citoyens qui la paient, personne ne la paiera pour eux…

Europe on Track, groupe de travail de AEGEE-Europe a réalisé au cours de 2019 une tournée de rencontres des antennes locales sur le thème: Quelle vision du futur de l’Europe à travers la participation des jeunes. Sur la question quelle forme de participation, 52% des jeunes interrogés ont répondu le “bénévolat” (45% les manifestations et 43% les pétitions, sachant que l’une des voies n’exclut pas l’autre).

C’est une réponse qui répond aux convictions citoyennes de Franck Biancheri: “être citoyen est un acte bénévole”. Une des raisons pour lesquelles il a toujours estimé que se battre pour la démocratie, à travers les différents mouvements qu’il a initiés depuis AEGEE, IDE, Prometheus-Europe, Newropeans, Europe2020… ,  doivent rester des engagements volontaires, et qui dit volontaires dit gratuits. En tant que citoyen nous oeuvrons pour nous mais aussi pour la société, les autres, c’est un don de soi. Cela demande énormément d’abnégation et un grand sens de l’humanisme, deux qualités que Franck Biancheri portait en lui, comme de nombreux autres de ses compagnons de route. Et aujourd’hui nous ne pouvons que féliciter ces jeunes, qui descendent dans la rue, mais surtout qui s’engagent avec l’énergie de leurs convictions pour leur futur.

Nous vous invitons à regarder la très courte vidéo de Franck Biancheri sur ce sujet “Etre citoyen est un acte bénévole”:

[:]